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The View From the Cheap Seats: Super Bowl Musings

The View From the Cheap Seats: Super Bowl Musings

By Eddie Mayrose

It's frustrating, sometimes, to have a sports column that prints on Thursday when the previous weekend's action was especially compelling. You don't want to rehash events that are, now, four days old, but you have some strong opinions you'd like to share. Generally, the focus shifts elsewhere. However, after the up and down story that was the Giants' season, after the comeback successes of both Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning that culminated with such an incredible game, it's time to make an exception.

Could not have disagreed more strongly with the notion that Ahmad Bradshaw should have stopped at the 1 yard line instead of scoring the go-ahead touchdown in a Super Bowl. Ask Ravens' kicker Billy Cundiff if a short field goal at the end of the game is a sure thing. If you get a chance to take the lead in a championship game, you pounce on it, no questions asked ...

The NFL rules committee needs to remedy the loophole that was exposed at the end of the game when the Giants got caught with 12 men on the field. As the rule currently stands, there is tremendous incentive for a defensive unit to put as many guys as possible on the field, as no time is put back on the clock after the infraction is called. Who wouldn't trade 10 of the game's remaining 57 seconds when the cost is just five inconsequential yards? ...

Congratulations to Curtis Martin on his election to the Hall of Fame. Perhaps the best of his era, the former Jets' RB was the personification of a professional during his career. Now, if the HOF committee would wake up and recognize Joe Klecko, there would be justice …

C'mon. When the halftime show was being planned, there wasn't one guy in the room who thought MIA would tell us who she thought was number one? ...

This “legacy” stuff is starting to get a little silly. Maybe we should let Eli finish his career before we start the bus for Canton ...

Tom Brady's wife, Gisele Bundchen, hit the nail right on the head when she pointed out that a number of her hubby's passes that fell incomplete should have been caught. However, I can't help thinking that Brady was more than a little embarrassed that his teammates were thrown under the bus by a supermodel ..

. I'm not sure if I'm on board with the theory that the Giants got hot at the right time. I think it was more that they got healthy at the right time, especially on the defensive side of the ball. If Eli hadn't won the MVP trophy, it would have gone to Justin Tuck, one of many Giants who fought through injury for most of the season ...

Can't imagine any coach bungling the last few minutes of a Super Bowl more thoroughly than Bill Belichick did on Sunday. First, on Mario Manningham's catch, which took place right in front of him, he blew a timeout on a challenge he couldn't win. Then, he was a play late in deciding to let the Giants score, costing him a second timeout. Wes Welker has spent most of the week wearing goat horns, but Belichick let his squad down more than anyone ...

Had a funny thought about Rex Ryan as I watched Tom Coughlin celebrate after the game. In the movie Twelve Angry Men, Ed Begley turns the entire jury against him with an angry, insane rant that exposes his own lunacy. When he's finally out of ridiculous things to say, he falls quiet, prompting E.G. Marshall to tell him, “Now sit down and don't open your mouth again.” Couldn't help thinking what perfect advice that is for Big Rexy, now that Coughlin has won another Lombardi Trophy and Ryan, after all of his worthless guarantees, has lost control of his locker room.